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**
With a twist of his wrist and a swing of his arm, Ling Xiao channeled power from his waist and snapped his body around.
Driven by the Profound Sky Axe, a burst of sharp, piercing aura erupted instantly. As Ling Xiao turned and executed a natural hacking strike, a massive, crescent-shaped axe light blossomed from the blade of the giant axe, swiftly detaching itself from the weapon.
Tracing a perfect semi-circle, the elongated axe light flew out and slammed head-on into the incoming punches of Huyan Xi and his three companions. The fierce impact violently repelled their assault.
Although Ling Xiao had successfully neutralized the continuous attacks of Huyan Li and his brothers within just a few exchanges without showing any signs of defeat, it seemed that fighting one against seven forced him into a relentless, unceasing rotation of enemies.
This made it incredibly difficult for him to gather his soul power for a decisive blow.
Every time Ling Xiao swung his axe, he managed to break the opponent's attack and force them back, but he could not truly wound them. For a moment, the tactical initiative seemed to have fallen into the hands of the seven Huyan brothers.
Ling Xiao, conversely, had slipped into a passive position.
Up on the high platform overlooking the square, Chrysanthemum Douluo, who had been watching the battle intently, knew in his heart that this collaborative formation centered around the Elephant Armor Formation had only just begun.
The Elephant Armor Formation was never meant to be used merely as a turtle shell that took beatings without hitting back. Right now, Ling Xiao was no longer as at ease as he had been during his previous one-on-one duel against Huyan Li.
Chrysanthemum Douluo could not help but feel a twinge of anxiety deep down, wondering if the boy could actually break through the Elephant Armor Formation formed by the seven Huyan brothers.
Down on the square, the seven brothers continued their onslaught.
They launched continuous attacks from all directions, creating an intersecting web of pressure.
Even though Ling Xiao managed to block every single strike—and even gained the upper hand during the moments of physical collision—he was utterly unable to convert these small victories into an overall triumph.
The reason was simple: every time a single swing of his axe forced an opponent back, he could not pursue them. He would immediately be dragged down by another person's incoming attack. His advantages could not stack.
On a few occasions, Ling Xiao had even seized fleeting opportunities to condense a massive amount of soul power to unleash either the Profound Sky Slash or the Profound Sky Shatter, intending to heavily cripple one person first, then defeat them one by one to shatter their collaborative attack cycle.
Yet, whenever he did, the seven Huyan brothers would suddenly halt their offense entirely. Instead, they would cluster together instantly, activating the Elephant Armor Formation to unleash their "Impregnable Fortress".
This manifested a colossal shield wall that blocked Ling Xiao's attacks, forcing him to return empty-handed each time. In this manner, Huyan Li and his brothers had effectively trapped Ling Xiao for the time being.
While the attacks from Huyan Li's group could not actually wound Ling Xiao, allowing this stalemate to drag on indefinitely would not work in his favor.
Although he had already advanced to the Soul Ancestor realm and possessed far deeper soul power than Huyan Li and the others, the seven of them were taking turns to attack him. By launching a coordinated assault against a single target, their individual soul power consumption was vastly lower than his.
If this continued, he ran the very real risk of exhausting his soul power. If the battle ended in a draw with both sides completely drained of soul power, it would be no different from a defeat for him.
However, just as Ling Xiao was searching for an opportunity to break their formation, Huyan Li and his brothers were likewise searching for a method to decisively defeat Ling Xiao.
Before long, after several more clashes across the square, Ling Xiao once again neutralized the coordinated offensive of the seven Huyan brothers.
Suddenly, the relentless, non-stop attacks that usually followed failed to arrive. Instead, Ling Xiao's mental perception sharply picked up several auras nearby that were abruptly spiking in strength.
Shifting his primary focus away from Huyan Li, Huyan Ba, and Huyan Shan—the three with the highest cultivation levels—Ling Xiao glanced out of the corner of his eye.
He discovered that from different directions around him, Huyan Xi and three others were simultaneously mobilizing their third soul rings, unleashing their third soul skills.
As a purple, thousand-year soul ring rapidly rose from beneath each of their feet, the power of these thousand-year soul rings caused the auras of all four men to surge violently. Their soul power fluctuations became incredibly intense.
Among the four, Huyan Gai and Huyan Shi were the first to move. Driving their Martial Souls and channeling the energy of their soul rings, they raised their legs and stomped down with immense force.
A thick, glowing radiance of soul power condensed around their legs.
Following a heavy, thunderous boom, a violent tremor erupted from beneath their feet. Two powerful surges of physical force, blended with overbearing soul power, rolled and surged beneath the earth, rampaging outward.
The surrounding ground shook violently under the continuous tremors, and numerous large fissures ripped through the stone, tearing directly toward Ling Xiao.
These two individuals' third soul skills were surprisingly similar to the Mammoth Trample that Huyan Li had unleashed previously, belonging to the exact same type of ability.
By combining terrifying physical strength with soul power and channeling it into the earth, it caused massive destruction to the terrain while generating violent tremors to restrict an enemy's movements and force a tactical opening.
However, even though their third soul skills drew upon the power of thousand-year soul rings, their sheer destructive force and execution could not compare to Huyan Li's full-force Mammoth Trample. They were slightly unrefined, and the damage was not as concentrated.
Nevertheless, the attack remained exceptionally potent and covered a vast area.
Under the force of Huyan Gai and Huyan Shi's third soul skill, Colossal Trample, the ground beneath Ling Xiao's feet churned violently as if an earth dragon were turning over. The earth shook and rolled relentlessly as countless bluestones exploded apart.
The ground tore open inch by inch, sending fractures spreading outward in all directions, while two massive fissures surged straight toward Ling Xiao from two different angles.
Seeing them unleash such skills, Ling Xiao knew in his heart that the seven brothers were about to launch an even more ferocious onslaught. He rapidly circulated his Martial Soul, channeled power into his right arm, and swung the Profound Sky Axe in a horizontal cleave.
Unleashing a Profound Sky Slash, a massive, elongated axe light radiating a piercing, razor-sharp aura blossomed from the blade. It instantly tore through the air and slammed directly into the ground.
As it carved a deep trench into the earth, the sharp intent and violent force penetrated the terrain, completely shattering the subterranean trampling forces rushing toward him from both sides and neutralizing the two skills entirely.
Once the impact and tremors of the Colossal Trample were cut down right through the middle, the shaking near Ling Xiao subsided dramatically, gradually stabilizing.
Yet, almost the very next instant after Ling Xiao made his move, several powerful attacks surged toward him from multiple directions.
Their momentum was far more terrifying than any of their previous assaults; it was clear the seven brothers were determined to secure victory with this strike, aiming to heavily cripple Ling Xiao once and for all.
Not far from Ling Xiao, Huyan Li, Huyan Xi, and Huyan Qi all erupted with violent surges of soul power. Among them, Huyan Xi and Huyan Qi had already summoned their third soul rings earlier.
As their third soul skills activated, the two bent low, ducked their heads, and stomped heavily against the ground.
Boom!
A spectacular flare of soul power erupted beneath them.
Though their towering, muscular Diamond Mammoth forms were exceptionally heavy, the explosive burst of energy propelled them forward with astonishing acceleration and speed.
As they charged, they thrust forward their twin tusks, which resembled sharp spears, looking as if they intended to impale any enemy in their path.
This was precisely their third soul skill: Savage Charge.
When paired with the Diamond Mammoth Martial Soul, its sheer momentum surpassed even the "Boar's Violent Charge" of Li Kai from the Spirit Hall Academy. After all, the Black-Horned Mountain Boar was simply no match for the Diamond Mammoth.
Meanwhile, although Huyan Li had not mobilized his third soul ring, he carried several legacy techniques of the Elephant Armor Sect within him. How could his true combat strength ever be strictly limited by his soul rings?
**
Enjoying the story? Support the translation and get early access to future chapters here: www.patr eon.com/c/FanficTranslator
Thanks for reading!
I have 100+ advanced chapter now on Patreon. I will post 5 advanced chapter on Patreon everyday except Sunday